Uniting Communities: A Pivotal Force in Combating HIV/AIDS
By Betty Adera As we observe this year’s World AIDS Day, it is crucial to shine a light on persistent inequalities that continue to affect the lives of children, adolescents and young women. Numerous awareness campaigns and other strategies have led to critical advancements during the four-decade long HIV/AIDS global pandemic. However, the role of…
Read MoreStriving to Find and Serve Missing Children in HIV Treatment & Care
By Betty Adera Despite tremendous progress in the fight against HIV and AIDS, outcomes for treatment and care among children remain low. Sadly, disparities in the HIV response continue to result in failure to meet the unique needs of children living with or are at high risk of HIV. At the end of 2019, an…
Read MoreMeaningful Engagement of Boys and Men: A Pathway to Prevention and Response to Gender-Based Violence
By Betty Adera, Senior Technical Advisor HIV/AIDS and Health, Global Communities The COVID-19 pandemic has brought discussions of domestic violence and abuse of women and girls into the global public discourse. As I have worked in the space of adolescent girls and young women’s health and well-being at the community level for more than 20…
Read MoreWorld AIDS Day: Centering Adolescent Girls in the Journey towards HIV Epidemic Control
By: Betty Adera, Senior Technical Advisor HIV/AIDS and Health, Global Communities, Nairobi, Kenya The theme of this year’s World AIDS Day is “End Inequalities” and it is especially timely as the world continues grappling with COVID-19. Adolescent girls bear the greatest brunt of COVID-19-related inequalities. UNAIDS estimates that in sub-Saharan Africa, four in five new…
Read MoreCOVID-19 Response in Rwanda
The Global Communities Rwanda team is working with USAID to provide technical response to this pandemic through messaging and provision of handwashing facilities to communities and business centers, as well as linkages to care for suspected COVID-19 cases. Proposed COVID-19 activities include provision of handwashing facilities and personal protective equipment (PPE), dissemination of prevention messages,…
Read MoreGlobal Communities Celebrates International Day of the Girl 2019
By Sarah Goddard #DayoftheGirl #GenerationEquality #unstoppable Twenty-five years ago, the World Conference on Women in Beijing marked a significant turning point for global gender equality with the recognition of the rights of women and girls as human rights. Today, there are movements to stop child marriage and gender-based violence, promote girls’ education, and end stigma…
Read MoreUSAID TWIYUBAKE Holds Early Childhood Development Workshop
USAID Twiyubake, in collaboration with the National Early Childhood Development Program (NECDP), organized a workshop and field learning event for CHAIN partners. The event served as a learning platform on how to promote integrated ECD services across USAID funded projects. The workshop which took place in Musanze hosted USAID implementing program partners including SNV/CRS (Isuku…
Read MoreFor a DREAMS Graduate, an Entrepreneurship Course Provides Steps to a Better Life
In Rwanda, HIV prevalence is highest among youth aged 20-24. It is against this background that the PEPFAR-funded DREAMS (Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS Free, Mentored and Safe) program was launched in five districts to address structural drivers of HIV among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW), which includes poverty, gender inequality, sexual violence, and a…
Read MoreAn Impressive Visit to the Igihozo Integrated Model Early Childhood Development (ECD) Center
By Malaika Neumann, Communications and Outreach Manager, USAID/Twiyubake Program Download PDF of this story here. Children and parents at the USAID Twiyubake-supported Igihozo integrated model early childhood development (ECD) center recently received a group of 10 visitors to tour the facility and learn about its services. Upon their arrival in the classroom, the Executive Director…
Read MoreRwanda: Collaboration with Public and Private sector in promoting Early Childhood Development (ECD) Services
Rwanda: Collaboration with Public and Private Sector in Promoting Early Childhood Development (ECD) Services Cutting the ribbon from left to right: Tona Isibo – Global Communities’ representative, Beatrice Umwiza, IM Representative, Innocent Benineza, DUHAMIC Executive Secretary,DUHAMIC – ADRI. On Thursday August 2, 2018, USAID Twiyubake in collaboration with Huye district inaugurated the community owned Igihozo…
Read MoreBuilding Resiliency among Families in Rwanda
Building Resiliency among Families in Rwanda USAID-funded Twiyubake Program makes an impact on vulnerable rural families The Improved Services for Vulnerable Populations (ISVP) Program, locally known as USAID Twiyubake (“Build Together” in Kinyarwandan) aims to assist 50,000 vulnerable households in 12 districts on Rwanda. The program is designed to build and enhance lasting self-reliance in a way that promotes mutual…
Read MorePrivate Manufacturing Companies Donate Materials for Construction of Model Public Toilet in Rwanda
Cutting the ribbon to inaugurate the public toilet (from left to right) representative of Ruliba Clays Ltd., Petrocom Ltd., Global Communities USAID Twiyubake Director of Program Management, Kayonza District Vice Mayor in charge of Social Affairs, Kabare Sector Civil Registrar. Private Manufacturing Companies Donate Materials for Construction of Model Public Toilet in Rwanda The outreach…
Read MoreVIP: Dalia Mehiar, Developing Measures for the Categorization of Household Vulnerability
VIP Dalia Mehiar, Developing Measures for the Categorization of Household Vulnerability Rwanda, Kigali, 28 May – 28 August 2017 In the summer of 2017, Global Communities Rwanda had been preparing for year three of USAID’s five-year Twiyubake Program, also known as the Improved Services for Vulnerable Populations (ISVP) Program. The goal of the program is…
Read MoreVIP: Evan Bartlett, Using Participatory Approaches in Agriculture: Farmer Field Schools and Kitchen Gardens
VIP Evan Bartlett: Using Participatory Approaches in Agriculture: Farmer Field Schools and Kitchen Gardens Rwanda, 29 May-28 July 2017 Farmer Field Schools (FFSs) are a participatory approach to agricultural extension whereby farmers are given an opportunity to test and adopt improved agricultural production techniques and new fortified crops in order to increase incomes and improve…
Read MoreVIP: Building Community Resiliency Through Cooperatives
Building Community Resiliency Through Cooperatives Visiting International Professionals Elena Gillis, Muhammad Malik, Samad Sadri, and Alison Salisbury Rwanda-USA, January-May 2016 Are cooperatives making a difference in communities in which they are located? To explore related issues Global Communities partnered with a team of four Master Graduates from the George Washington University’s Elliott School of International…
Read MoreSowing Development: Farmers provide more than food; they are the cornerstone of rural economies
Sowing Development Farmers provide more than food; they are the cornerstone of rural economies By Liz Adams, Technical Specialist for Agriculture at Global Communities | This article orginally appeared in Medium. No matter where you are, the food on your plate comes from a farmer. This isn’t a particularly shocking revelation, and development assistance to farmers…
Read MoreCooperatives: Building Success Together
Cooperatives: Building Success Together With over 60 years of experience in building capacity around the world, Global Communities focuses on the five key dimensions of cooperative success to increase incomes, strengthen democratic values and promote equality. Global Communities cooperative programs are operational in Mongolia, Rwanda, Uganda and urban Kenya. Our in-country teams of technical experts…
Read MoreParenting Groups Helping Solve Household Conflict in Rwanda
Parenting Groups Helping Solve Household Conflict in Rwanda Viviane Mukandekezi is a mother of five children in Kinazi, Southern Rwanda. She and her husband are both workers in fields surrounding their village. Beside the poverty the family is facing, Viviane was overwhelmed with the growing responsibility at home. As life became more challenging, her husband slowly…
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